


I am Atlantis

by Diabolical_Pink_Bunny



Series: Stargate: Atlantis. Season 6 [1]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-08 06:50:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1930842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diabolical_Pink_Bunny/pseuds/Diabolical_Pink_Bunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the depths of Atlantis a signal is received and a child is born that will change everything. Now Rodney McKay is trying to decide what to do with the enigmatic and newly-cloned woman, Sitnalta. But when SGA-1 sets out for a planet that Teyla had once known, the greatest part of the team disappears. Only Rodney and Sitnalta remains to bring them back, but will they be in time before the locals reach them and kill Sitnalta?</p><p>Set a few weeks before 'Sunday' (season 3), it is the start of a new timeline  that will take Atlantis and the people living in her on new adventures in this, episode 1 of season 6.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_I was built hundreds of thousands of years ago. My builders have gone under numerous names throughout the ages, but today they are referred to as the Atlanteans or the Ancients. I was given no consciousness and no voice, yet I was built to hear the thoughts of my makers. They built me, and I listened._

_They call me a city, but if I am a city, then I am a city who can travel through the stars. My maiden voyage was also my longest: I was built in the Milkyway Galaxy, but my builders decided to leave it and to come here, to the Pegasus Galaxy. They activated my stardrive, and I flew._

_Centuries passed and I was content. Then one day one of the Ancients was killed by a creature from another planet, a thing called the Iratus-bug. In time more people came in contact with the creature and from this inauspicious beginning a new species was born: the Wraith. The Wraith tried to kill my people, so I fought._

_Then one day the Atlanteans built machines which was given consciousness, thought and a voice. These Replicators were built to destroy our enemies: the Wraith. But these machines were not reliable and so the project was abandoned. Yet these machines would not allow abandonment, and another battle ensued. In the end the Replicators left, but, because of them, for the first time I became aware that I am. Yet I was content, so I obeyed._

_The battle with the Wraith continued and in a desperate attempt to buy time, the Atlanteans told me to go beneath the ocean. So I sank, taking them with me, but always protecting them._

_One day a woman came here, a woman from the future. But it was too late: my makers were already leaving me to go back to the Milkyway Galaxy and earth. So I was abandoned, but the woman stayed and I protected her. Together we slumbered and we waited._

_Time passed. The galaxy forgot my makers and me. From time to time the woman woke to turn the ZPM's. In these times I, too, would wake and think. But too soon my corridors were dark and both the woman and I were dying._

_I was woken by the activation of my Stargate. Through the gate stepped the descendants of the Atlanteans. Unfortunately my power was nearly depleted and I could not protect them as I should. But then I recognised the lifesigns of one: she was the same woman as the one I had been cradling in me all these years. She had come to warn me of this exact moment and so I responded. To save those inside me I rose to the surface. For the first time in ten millennia I saw the sun. I was awake._

_Of these descendants only a few still carried the gene of the Ancients. I would have liked to be able to communicate with all of my new children, but I was not programmed to do so. And so I only had a few who could talk to me, but I was content._

_The descendants were mostly explorers, but a few were scientists. These scientists were the first to touch me, to learn of me since the Ancients left. They worked on my systems and repaired the damage caused by the Wraith and time. They brought me to life and I flourished._

_Of these scientists, one stood out from the rest. Time, above all else, had damaged me. Often I broke down and could not repair the damage. But always this one would be there to heal me, to undo what I could not stop. I was used to legions of engineers and scientists working on my systems and adding to me. Now those numbers were down to a few, yet I did not feel neglected or diminished._

_So little time passed, yet in this time I came to regard this one – this worker of magic – as my own. As long as I knew he would return after a mission, I was content._

_Then, one day, I received a message that changed everything. With this message all hope of a future was gone. Yet I knew that I had one chance of saving myself, my miracle worker as well as the people who now roamed my passageways. And I knew that I could only trust one man to avert that future and restore hope._

_I am Atlantis, and here begins my story._


	2. Chapter 2

John Sheppard was bored. He knew he shouldn't be, but he was: a free day on your own wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Ronon and Teyla were off-world, Weir was busy and Rodney and Zelenka were in their lab.

So for the past hour or so he had been idly strolling through Atlantis. He had tried his luck in the infirmary, but Carson Beckett had promptly sent him on his way. He had tried sparring with Lorne, but it was not as much fun as sparring with Ronon. He had even attempted staying in his room and catching up on some reading, but he wasn't in the mood. The simple truth was just that he craved a new adventure.

His ambling finally brought him to the lab where Rodney was working. It was Rodney's day off as well, but the scientist had insisted on putting in some lab-work while he had the time. Personally John wondered if the man didn't just get a kick out of terrorising the other scientists. Either way, by the time John entered the lab the rest of the scientists were either looking terribly harassed or had fled. Only two of the younger scientists were still left, working as far away from Rodney as they could. Only Zelenka seemed to ignore McKay.

In fact, the Czech was muttering while working at one of the panels; his fingers flying over the key-pad of his laptop.

"No," he said, once more tapping at something and squinting at the screen suspended from the roof. "This cannot be."

Rodney irritably stood back in that stance John knew too well: the one where the other man was ready to tell you just how incredibly unintelligent you were. "What is it now?" he demanded.

Zelenka gestured at the screen. "This is just not supposed to be," he told Rodney, just as irritably.

Rodney walked over to where Radek was working. He tapped at something. Then he scowled. "You broke it," he simply informed the other man.

Radek Zelenka bristled. "I did no such thing!"

"Well," Rodney said as he stood back, "the data you're receiving is wrong. Either you broke it, or it is picking up some lesser life-form."

By this time John was as confused as one could only be in the presence of the two scientists. But at the mention of possible life-form readings, he suddenly perked up.

"Life-form?" he asked. The two scientists spun around; obviously they had been so engrossed in their work they had not been aware John had been standing there.

"No, not a life-form," Rodney told him, "just a glitch in the system." He looked at Radek. "A system that had been working fine until you started to mess with it."

"It is stil working fine," the other scientist said, undaunted. He shrugged. "I might just have over-calibrated it too much."

"In other words," Rodney said, "you broke it."

"I did not break it!" Zelenka insisted.

But before the two scientists could get into a bigger argument, John decided to intervene. He held up both hands, trying to placate McKay and Zelenka.

"Why don't you just tell me what's going on, okay?"

Before McKay could say anything, Zelenka started on the explanation: something for which John was thankful. The last thing he needed was a lecture from McKay on how he would not understand the finer workings of the city.

"I had been working on recalibrating the internal sensors," Radek explained. "I have been looking into differentiating between human life-signs and that of Wraith." He tapped at a few controls and a grid-map of the city appeared on the Atlantean-screen.

"But now something went wrong?" John prompted.

"No, not wrong," Radek explained. "It's just that we're getting a life-sign reading from a part of the city where nobody is supposed to be." A few taps on the key-board later the section mentioned appeared on the screen. And there, in one room, was the life-sign reading the two men had been arguing about.

John frowned. "Are you sure that's not one of our people?" Both scientists gave him a look informing him he must be an idiot. "Okay, so it's not one of us. Could it be a Wraith?"

"No," Zelenka promptly said. "The thing is: the one moment that area was clear of any life-signs, and the next that dot appeared. It is not like we did a scan and found the dot. The dot appeared as I watched the screen."

"Which means you probably broke it," Rodney piped up, unwilling to be ignored a moment longer.

"Well, have any of you two geniuses thought of going there to see what it is you're looking at?" John asked. The two scientists opened their mouths, but no sound came out. "Ah, thought as much," he grinned. "So, are you coming?"

Less than twenty minutes later they were outside the door leading to the life-sign reading. On their way they had picked up a couple of P-90's (Radek was not given one: Zelenka with a weapon was more dangerous than a hungry Wraith), as well as a couple of marines.

The five of them spread out and John Sheppard was given the privilege of opening the doors. For a moment they all stood aside, ready for any weapons-fire from inside. When nothing happened the marines ventured inside; ready to defend themselves.

But as it turned out, there was nothing inside to be afraid of. There was something, though, that made all five of the men just the tiniest bit uncomfortable.

Calmly seated on a table was a woman. She had long white hair that nearly fell to her waist, a serene face and a figure most women would envy. And all of this was plainly visible, as she was completely naked.

Zelenka blushed, John and the other two marines looked away. It was strangely only Rodney McKay who acted in any helpful way: he quickly took off his jacket and handed it to the woman. She took it and draped it over her upper-body. John grinned as now suddenly it was Rodney's turn to blush and look away.

With the woman covered – mostly – John relaxed a little. He took a careful step closer. "Who are you?"

The woman tilted her head slightly to one side – almost as if she was hearing something they could not. Then she said:

"Sitnalta-mae-eye."

"Sitnalta-what?" Rodney asked. He was still looking away.

"Sitnalta-mae-eye," the woman repeated. She frowned. Obviously there was something wrong here.

John now took a moment to look around the room. It resembled many other rooms in as much as he could see that the Ancients must have done some strange experiments here, but he could not even hazard a guess as to what.

"Rodney, what do you suppose this room is?" he asked.

Both scientists seemed relieved as they suddenly had something else to concentrate on besides the naked woman. They both pulled out their tablets and strolled around the room.

"Well, I'm not sure what this is," Zelenka finally said. Sheppard scowled. Sometimes – despite their IQ – the scientists could be extremely dense.

"What I need to know from the two of you," he patiently tried to explain, "is she a threat? Could she be a Replicator?"

"No," Rodney answered.

"But I thought you didn't know what this place does?"

"Well, of course we don't know what this place does," Rodney snapped. "You can't just expect us to know things the moment you want to. But even so," he said as he looked down on his tablet and waved a negligent hand, "this has nothing to do with nano-technology. This is some kind of biological lab." He suddenly looked up. "You see that pod? It resembles a stasis-pod."

"So she just woke up from a deep sleep? Would that explain why she just suddenly showed up on the sensors?" John asked.

"Yes, it would," Rodney impatiently tried to explain. "But I said it resembled a stasis-pod, not that it is a stasis-pod."

"Okay, Rodney," John began. But then the woman suddenly piped up.

"Eendor!" They looked at her. "You know, it almost feels as if I should understand her," Rodney grumbled.

"So she's not speaking Ancient?" Sheppard asked.

"No. And besides, the Ancients had translator-technology." Rodney frowned. He looked at the beautiful woman. "Do you understand me?" he asked her. She nodded. "So you understand English?"

"Shilgnee mae eye," she told them. She frowned again. "Sitnalta mae eye," she repeated. "Eendor rof daem saw eye." Obviously frustrated, she leapt off the table and marched over to Rodney McKay. She took his hand – fortunately hanging on to the jacket with her other hand – and pressed it against her chest. "Sitnalta!"

"Okay," Rodney carefully said. "Your name is Sitnalta?"

She dropped his hand and walked around the room, looking at everything and touching a few crystals. Then she turned to Rodney – who was once more occupied with his tablet. "Sitnalta." She repeated. "I am Sitnalta. You are Rodney," she carefully pronounced each word.

"Yes," Rodney said, not even looking up. John sighed. By the time he counted to four Rodney finally looked up in wonder. "You can speak!" he stated the obvious. "I mean, you can speak English!"

"Yes."

"Well, then I suppose we need to tell Weir about this," the scientist said.

John shook his head. Then he walked over to the young woman. "But first, let us find you some clothes," he told her as he held out his hand for her. "I am John."

"John," she said. She took his hand, but her eyes strayed towards McKay.


	3. Chapter 3

Being human was not as she had imagined it would be. But then, imagined was not the correct word to use. Up until three days ago, she had been part of a city: vast, ancient and made up of nothing more than metal, stone and circuits.

Yet as the city Atlantis, she had spent millennia gathering information on humans: how they acted and reacted, how they functioned and how they changed. In all that time she has had time to study and consider them. And yes, she had time to study how she would have acted had she been human. She had run countless scenarios in her memory banks and found the flaws and strengths in the human decisions.

Finally this part of her consciousness had been set aside and a body had been created. The body was a genetically altered clone of an Ancient who had lived in her – as the city – years before she had been evacuated.

So in many ways, imagined could be used to describe her consideration of being human.

Unfortunately, no amount of imagining or considering could prepare one for the human state. The very first human trait she had been exposed to was emotion. Upon seeing the object of her fascination, she had felt emotion for the first time. But how to know what she had felt? And who could she ask? Anyone she asked would have to be informed of her former state, and though only a three-day-old human, she was aware that information would not be easy for the other humans to understand. Therefore she had been fortunate that her speech pattern had been confused in the beginning – talking backwards but understanding normally – and so had not been able to make them comprehend her true identity. Now she was Sitnalta, an adult human with the human skills of an infant.

Then there had been the strange emotion when Rodney McKay had basically ignored her. He had seemed more interested in the technology of the room than her. Only reason and millennia of quiet observation had kept her from breaking something – the reaction called upon by the emotion.

Soon after she had been expected to dress. They might have given her the garments, but nobody even considered the idea that she did not know how to don them. In the end the female physician, the woman called Doctor Jennifer, had helped her. Now everyone had been alerted, though, to the fact that she was different. Well, the wild speculation of how she had come to be had been resolved when she had told them the function of the room: it was a cloning-room.

Now, Rodney McKay and Radek Zelenka were spending entire days cloistered in the cloning room, trying to figure out how it worked, if she was a threat and who she was a clone of. Why that last bit of information was relevant, she did not know. What she did know, though, was that they would never solve the riddle should she not tell them. The information of who Sitnalta was had been carefully and completely erased from the Atlantis – she was careful to draw the distinction between herself and that of the city by using the two names in her mind – database.

So, while the reason for her being was to win the attention of Rodney McKay, she now spent hours every day with either Teyla Emmagan, John Sheppard or both. At times the giant Sateydan, called Ronon Dex, would join the former two and they would try and guide her into their world. A few times she had been sent to the infirmary where doctor (a description of job, not a name!) Carson Beckett would examine her. Often he would call her 'love,' but the other doctor, Jennifer Keller, had explained that though it was an endearment of sorts, he called all women that and she should not be bothered by it. What a curious people the Scots were!

Therefore, by now the sensation of hunger was expected and not too frightening. Dressing – as long as the garments were simple – was easy enough and she felt her interaction with people was getting better. She was just ever thankful that she has had time to practice walking, sitting and standing in the time before the humans had found her!

She was aware the humans found her aloof and unpredictable. Teyla Emmagan had spent some time explaining to her the emotions she felt – she just had to first explain the feeling of them. She had also discovered by now that sometimes her reactions were better kept to herself. It had not taken Teyla Emmagan long to discover the fact that she, Sitnalta, was interested in Rodney McKay. This had disturbed Teyla Emmagan, yet Sitnalta was not sure why that would be.

Well, things were about to change, Sitnalta decided as she stood on a balcony overlooking the west pier. As she had once been Atlantis, it was only natural that she still maintained an unusual level of awareness of the city. Already some of the reactions of herself and the city-part of her diverged, but she was able to communicate with the city at any time. So right now a part of her mind was linked to Atlantis, and she was silently checking on the actions of Rodney McKay. She was proud and glad to find he was once more spending time with Atlantis – and not with the red-headed woman. But now Sitnalta was here, and she wanted some of his time.

But how to accomplish that? Well, the best way she could figure, was to join him in his endeavours to understand Atlantis. Who knew the city better than she? She would just have to walk a line between being capable and completely usurping the project. If she seemed too knowledgeable, he might just be able to unravel her secrets. Yet she would have to be smart enough to aid him and win his respect.

She would use the next few days to complete her 'crash course' in being human. On the day of her one week celebration, she would take action to impose herself on the science department.


	4. Chapter 4

Rodney McKay sank into the seat left open for him at the table. Ronon, Teyla and John were already seated there. This was one of Rodney's favourite times of day: eating time!

But today he was so agitated that eating was not foremost on his mind. Instead he had the burning need to talk about the new 'assistant.' Not that Sitnalta had ever even asked if she could join his science team: she had just appeared one day and started working.

"I can't take it anymore!" he griped. "She is just everywhere I turn! And don't even ask me how she knows half the stuff she does. As far as I can tell, she really was created just two weeks ago. But now she pretends to be knowledgeable about just about everything!" Angrily he unscrewed the cap of his bottle and drank from it.

"Pretends?" John grinned. "Or might it just be that she does know more than you?"

Rodney gestured wildly. "There is no way she could know more than I do about Atlantis." He gripped his fork. "No, there is much more going on with her than meets the eye. Behind that soft smile and blue eyes lurks some kind of evil!"

John grinned even more and Ronon had joined in. "Evil?" John asked, making Ronon grin even wider.

"How is it that you know her eye colour?" Ronon asked.

Rodney searched for the right words, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times. Then he found a kind of explanation. "I notice lots of eye-colours," he finally told them, taking a bite of the green vegetable that tasted more like tomato than anything else.

"Well, then," Teyla said in her soft voice, "what colour is John's eyes?"

"Blue," Rodney immediately replied. Then he thought about it for a moment. "No, green."

"Lucky guess," John said, scowling a little. "Okay," he added, leaning forward. "Weir wants us to go see if the people of planet M2T-134 is willing to trade with us. Both Ronon and Teyla know the people, so I hadn't planned on taking the whole team for something as routine. But if you want to, you are welcome to join us," he graciously offered.

"Do I ever!" Rodney exclaimed.

Just then – as these things often do happen – John's earpiece crackled and all of them could hear the faint sound of Elizabeth Weir's voice.

John, can you and your team come to my office, please.

"Great," Rodney sighed, eyeing his delicious meal, "I really wanted this food."

Together the four of them made their way to the control room and Elizabeth's office.

They entered the office to find Sitnalta seated on one of the seats. When they entered she demurely stood to greet them. Rodney was not pleased. He was really starting to feel as if she was deliberately trying to make his life hell.

"What's she doing here?" he asked of Elizabeth. Unfortunately he already had an idea.

"Rodney, John," Weir began. "I was the one who called Sitnalta here. I would like her to accompany you to planet M2T-134."

"But why do we have to take her along?" Rodney asked again.

Weir sat down behind her desk. "For one thing, I asked you to." Rodney knew the argument was already lost, right there. John had a soft spot for their expedition leader. And he had to admit the rest of them did, too. When Elizabeth asked one nicely, one did it. Rodney had to admit this was probably because of their respect for her: respect because she was always the one who treated them with respect. If they had a problem, she was always willing to listen.

"For another thing," she continued, "Sitnalta needs to be exposed to other people. She's not one of the scientists who are willing to spend their entire days in front of a screen."

"So you want us to babysit?" Rodney wanted to know, exasperated.

"Rodney," John interrupted the conversation. "The lady needs to get out some. Be nice."

Rodney could not help noticing Ronon snickering where he stood behind John. Rodney rolled his eyes, but just as he was about to question the decision – even if it was just to make his point – Teyla interrupted.

"Rodney, why would you be opposed to bringing Sitnalta along? As John already pointed out to you, both Ronon and I know this planet. Besides, perhaps a fresh perspective would be beneficial."

"Beneficial to whom?" he wondered as the team – with Sitnalta following – were already filing out of the office. He was the last to exit aside from Sitnalta, so he clearly heard Weir calling her back. He was not rude enough to turn and look back, but he was nosy enough to listen to the brief exchange:

"Sitnalta, it will be in your best interest to tell them as soon as possible," Elizabeth told the white-haired woman. He did not see Sitnalta's reaction, but he heard her clear voice saying:

"And how should I do that?"

#####

Rodney was showing great self-control by not mentioning anything about the conversation he had overheard. But it nagged at him. What did Elizabeth know about the young woman that they did not? What did she know that he did not?

As usual, the village was only a 'few hour's walk that way,' and he spent some time complaining about that. He wondered if the rest of the team realised he often complained just for the fun of it. And, of course, if things went pear-shaped afterwards, he can always have the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so.'

It was as they were cresting a hill that he noticed Sitnalta was in trouble. Only then did it occur to him that, though she seemed well enough, she really was just a few weeks old. She would not have had the time or the opportunity to get fit enough to walk so far. That she had come this far without complaint was actually truly amazing.

"Hey, you guys," he called as he dropped behind them, "can we take a break? I think there's something in my boot!" Promptly he sat down on a rock and started to untie his boot. "I think I must've picked it up on that hill back there."

From the corner of his eye he saw Sitnalta gratefully sinking onto the ground. Ronon and John grumbled a bit as they turned around, but there was little they could do about him stopping: they would not walk out on a bare-footed man.

As he looked up his eyes met Teyla's. She gave him a small smile and Rodney knew she had realised what he'd done. Actually, he was a bit confused at why he had felt the urge to help Sitnalta in this way. But hey, he had. Now all he had to do was keep John and Ronon from finding out what he'd done. At least he could count on Teyla's discretion.

He made a fuss about his boot for another minute or so, but he knew he could not push it too far. Not even Ronon was dumb enough to think it actually takes him ten minutes to find a rock in his boot.

Yet in the end it did not matter whether he took his time or not: while he was still lacing the boot Ronon suddenly disappeared. The one moment he stood to one side: suspiciously eyeing the woods. The next he was gone.

"Ronon!" John called, but there was no answer. Only the sound of the breeze through the grass could be heard as they stood staring at the empty spot where the large Satedan had been seconds before. Their friend was gone!


	5. Chapter 5

It always amazed Rodney that John's first reaction to trouble was to go investigate. And Teyla was never far behind him. Instead of hiding – like anyone with good sense would – they always had to run into the fight.

So when Ronon disappeared, the two of them lifted their P-90's and stepped over to the spot where the big man had been half a second ago.

"Ronon?" John asked. "Where are you, buddy?" They moved closer, sweeping the area with their weapons. Rodney was still lacing his boot. He suddenly realised he felt naked without his own weapon in his hands. Strange how much constant terror could change one, he mused, thinking of all the times he had been chased, caught, terrorised and even tortured.

Sheppard took another step closer to the now-empty spot. And still closer. There was no sign of Ronon.

Then, as suddenly as with Ronon, John disappeared as well.

"Colonel!" Teyla yelled, propelled forward by instinct and surprise.

"Perhaps..." Rodney began. But it was too late. Before he could finish the word the Athosian disappeared as well.

He quickly tied the last knot in his laces and stood up, ready with his own weapon. The scientist was aware that Sitnalta was right next to him, as quiet as a dormouse.

"Sheppard? Teyla?" he asked. Yet he did not expect anyone to reply. If Ronon could, he would have the moment John had called to him. Now the Colonel and Teyla were both lost, as well. If they were alive, they were probably in the same place.

"Either way," he said out loud, "we're not going to find them on our own." He looked at Sitnalta. She did not look so much afraid as curious. "We have to return to the gate for help," he said.

Sitnalta finally looked at him. "Why?" she asked.

"Because," he began, exasperated, "we're going to need some help getting them back!"

She frowned. "But you always figure it out," she told Rodney.

"Well, not on my own," he said. Then he thought about it for a moment. "Well, actually I do." He shook his head. "But this isn't one of those times. This isn't science. This is more along the lines of a mystery. And I'll gladly leave mysteries to those best suited for the job."

"Like you," the white-haired woman said. He only now realised her hair was neatly pulled back in two long braids hanging down her back.

"No, not like me," he tried to explain. "Besides, what makes you think I am the one that always solves everything?" he suddenly wondered.

She looked over at the spot where his friends had disappeared. Her thoughts seemed miles away. Finally she turned to him; looking embarrassed. "I read all your mission reports."

He frowned. "Why would you read my mission reports?"

The young woman looked at him, almost daring him to say something. "No, not just yours. Everyone's."

Rodney was astonished. Mostly he tried to ignore the very existence of mission reports, but now here this woman stood and told him she had read them all. Only one dumb question popped into his mind. "Why?"

She squared her shoulders and lifter her chin. "I wanted to know those living inside Atlantis."

As she spoke the word 'Atalntis', it was almost as if some part of his mind leapt up and tried to tell him something. But at the same time he realised he was starting to enter waters made muddy by female emotion and he needed to beat a hasty retreat.

"Let's just go back to the gate, okay?" He turned around and started back the way they had come, hoping she would have the sense to follow.

It took them quite a bit longer to return than it had taken them to hike out. Mostly this was because he could see her struggling and had set a slower pace than before. He was not keen on the idea of her giving out on him and then having to carry the woman.

Finally they crested a hillock and saw the gate only a few hundred feet away. In the afternoon sun it appeared to shimmer.

Much faster now they made their way down the incline towards the gate. Just beyond it laid help.

By now he knew Atlantis' address by heart. His hand flew over the DHD, activating the wormhole and telling it where to go. He pressed down on the last chevron and stood back a little, waiting for the familiar whoosh as the wormhole opened.

Instead he heard the sickening sound the gate made when it was unable to establish a wormhole. He frowned and dialled the address again. But once more the gate refused to open.

Sitnalta stood closer, looking over his shoulder. "Why isn't it working?"

Frustrated, he went over the address again. When the gate was still unresponsive, he ducked down beneath the DHD. He could find nothing wrong with the crystals, so for a last time he stood up and dialled the address. As he did so, he told Sitnalta:

"I don't know. It should be working." He gestured at it. "But it's just dead."

Again the gate only blurbed at them. He stood back, looking at it in disgust.

"Possibly whatever it was that made Ronon, Teyla and the Colonel disappear is interfering with the Stargate," Sitnalta told him. He looked at her.

"Possibly," he said. "Or perhaps one of a thousand other things has gone wrong."

For some reason his reaction made the woman smile. "Don't be so gloomy, Rodney," she told him. From the start she had insisted on calling him by his given name. He wasn't sure why, for she addressed the rest of the people either by rank or by status.

"Perhaps the village could offer us an explanation," she suggested, sounding too much like Teyla. Usually just when he was settling in for a good rant, Teyla would interrupt with her calm, soft logic.

He glared at Sitnalta, but she only smiled at him. Two weeks old and she already knew how to mess with a guy!

Together they hiked to the village, giving the spot where their friends had disappeared a wide berth. Twice Sitnalta stopped and cocked her head as if listening to something. He couldn't hear anything, though. Which was strange: usually the wild was teeming with insect and animal noises.

The sun was low in the sky by the time they crested another hill and saw the village sprawled in a valley. Perhaps there they would find some way to get their friends back.

It was only as they were descending that Rodney realised he had never once even considered the idea that John, Teyla and Ronon might be dead.


	6. Chapter 6

The village was perhaps the most run-down and dirty place Rodney McKay had ever seen. Even from above he had seen the forlorn appearance of it, but up close it was just terrible. The air reeked of the rotten garbage and sewerage that filled the streets. All the buildings were dilapidated and crooked: testifying to the fact that this village had never been built to high standards.

Sitnalta wrinkled her nose slightly, but prudently kept quiet. Even though it was a sty, it would not do to offend the locals.

Rodney tried to engage a number of people in conversation, but everyone shrank back from him.

"Great, all of them seem afraid of us," he finally exclaimed after the third man ran away when he saw McKay and Sitnalta approaching.

"Perhaps these people have had something terrible happen to them," Sitnalta remarked.

"Well, we didn't have anything to do with it," Rodney said. He then frowned at the woman beside him. "You sound like Teyla," he grumbled.

The blonde woman grinned and he thought he saw the beginnings of a naughty personality in her. Already she had proven to be stubborn, proud and extremely clever. But if she was going to balance that with a sense of humor reminiscent of both John Sheppard and Ronon, he just knew he was in for a bad time with her.

"Teyla Emmagan is a very wise woman," she remarked; still grinning. Rodney nearly groaned. Perhaps he should not have ignored her so much that first week. But somehow he just knew the damage had been done: Sitnalta had learned quickly and completely from his friends. Along with something uniquely her, he also saw Teyla, Ronon and John in her grin.

They came to a crooked building with an open door. From inside came the scent of unwashed bodies, alcohol and vomit. "In here," he told her. A tavern might not be the best place for a woman, but he was not going to leave her out on the street, either. At least when she was with him he could protect her.

Inside the tavern he found exactly what he had expected: a number of rickety tables and a dirty floor. To one side was a splintery bar with an unkempt barkeep. At the tables sat half a dozen men with bleary eyes.

Next to him could feel Sitnalta pushing against him. He felt bad that this was how her first sojourn into the world was turning out. He was just wondering why Teyla and Ronon had told them this was a good world to trade with.

"It's the only place in the galaxy where one can find starlight crystals," a skinny fellow said next to them. Rodney had not even seen him slithering over.

"What?" he asked, not sure what the guy was talking about.

The dirty man lifted his tankard and included the whole tavern in one sweep of his arm. "Everybody wants to know why anyone would like to do business with the Merikki. It's because we have starlight crystals," the man repeated.

Rodney looked at the dirty fellow. Then a disturbing thought hit him. "You are not by any chance a prosperous, advanced society that only pretends to be so awful to discourage outsiders?" Visions of another Genii-like planet danced through the Atlantean scientist's mind.

The dirty man looked around at his fellow bar-flies. "Hey, is the Merikki anything like that?" he asked those slumped at the tables. A few groaned, one uttered a discouraged "Nah."

Then he turned back to Rodney and Sitnalta. "As the people said, the Merikki isn't prosperous." He finished his drink and looked at Rodney in expectation. "But the Merikkai is." He flashed a toothless grin at Sitnalta. Rodney had the insane urge to shoot the ugly little man.

Finally Rodney relented and asked the barkeep for another mug of whatever the ugly little fellow was drinking. Perhaps he could buy information.

As the man took his mug he grinned and went to sit at one rickety table. Rodney slid in next to him, with Sitnalta reluctantly following him.

"Friends of ours disappeared about halfway between here and the gate," Rodney started, hoping the fellow could help with an explanation. But the man only grinned.

"Then they are gone." He leaned towards Sitnalta. "You want to know why everybody is afraid of you?" he asked her. She frowned slightly.

"I noticed they tried to avoid us, yes," she said.

The barfly leaned even closer to her. "You wear the mark of the Merikkai," he said. Then he leaned back in his seat; nearly toppling to the floor in the process.

Sitnalta cocked her head slightly. "I am not Merikkai," she loftily told him.

The man barked with laughter, but Rodney suspected it was more forced than he pretended. Obviously the idea of the Merikkai frightened these people.

"No, of course not," the other man said. "The Merikkai would never travel into the village."

"I am not Merikkai," Sitnalta repeated.

The man's eyes hardened. "Prove it," he said.

It was time to go, Rodney decided. But as he got up to leave, Sitnalta softly laid her hand on his arm. She never took her eyes off the dirty barfly as she glared at him.

"Fine," she told him. She sounded a lot like John.

Again the barfly gave a bark of laughter. Then he turned in his seat and called out to the barman. Moments later a large mug of some vile-smelling brew was placed in front of Sitnalta. The barman put another in front of the barfly. He grinned and winked at the dirty barfly.

Without ever taking her eyes off the disgusting man, Sitnalta picked up her mug. The barfly did so, as well. Then he tilted his head back and quaffed the vile brew.

Sitnalta was right behind him. Rodney tried to warn her, but he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. The rest of the tavern patrons had gathered around the table. One big fellow had placed his dirty paw on his shoulder in an attempt to stay upright.

Just then the barfly placed his mug on the table. The moment his mug touched the table, so did Sitnalta's. She still looked at the barfly. Either they had just proven they were not Merikkai, or they were about to be killed, Rodney mused.

For a moment silence reigned. Then the barfly laughed – the first real laugh. "Welcome, strangers," he told them between barks of laughter. Those around the table cheered.

Minutes later they were outside, on a hill overlooking the village. With firm determination the barfly turned his back on the collection of houses and instead focussed on the rolling hills leading back to the Stargate.

"My name is Urton," he began. "On this planet we do not fear the Wraith. Instead we fear and hate the Merikkai. They're the keepers of the starlight crystals." He gestured at the landscape. "The Merikki mine the crystals and the Merikkai use it for their power rings. Once the Merikkai have taken you, there is no turning back." He sighed once, and then turned back to the sad village. From a pocket he took a dark crystal and handed the piece to Rodney. Without looking at the scientist he started down the slope. "Go to the eastern temple. Perhaps you will find what you are looking for there."

They watched him disappear. Rodney still wanted to shoot him, but he felt angry for his part as well. Whoever the Merikkai were, they weren't nice people.

"Oh, dear," Sitnalta groaned as Urton disappeared. Then she bent over and was violently sick. A bit uncomfortably Rodney patted her on the back.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked of her.

"What part?" she asked as she finally straightened. She looked a bit wan.

"To drink like that," he answered.

Then she grinned again. "Ronon."


	7. Chapter 7

It took them another hour's hard hiking to reach the eastern temple. By now the sun had set on the nightmare planet. To Sitnalta it appeared as if even the night sky was not as lovely as the one seen from Atlantis. But then again, as she knew exactly what the sky looked like from the planet Atlantis was on – even up to knowing which stars had habitable planets around it – this was not so strange. Or perhaps not. It almost seemed as if there was some kind of film in the air.

"Does the sky look dirty to you, as well?" she asked Rodney. The scientist looked up from the path at her. Then he looked up at the sky and she realised he had not even noticed the starlit sky.

"It is definitely not as pretty as the sky on Lantea," he answered. Fleetingly the disturbing thought flashed through her mind that by 'our planet' he was referring to earth. But then he unwittingly put that fear to rest: "It looks more like the sky seen from a city on earth."

They walked a few steps before Rodney suddenly stopped in his tracks. Sitnalta actually bumped into him. Her still slightly-undeveloped sense of balance failed her and she started to fall backwards. Luckily Rodney grabbed her arm and halted her fall. Still gripping her arm he suddenly looked into the distance – the way he always looked when his eyes were turned inwards into the intricacies of his own mind.

"But why would that be?" he asked. Physically Sitnalta might not be up to standard yet, but there was nothing wrong with her mind: a mind vast enough to have once encompassed an entire city. So immediately she knew he was fascinated by the fact that the sky was dull. Until now she had not realised this might be strange.

As neither she nor Rodney had an answer, they continued in silence to where they were told the eastern temple was. Perhaps there they might find some answers.

The path they were on was overgrown and winding, but eventually they reached its end. Whereas the path had been in the woods the last few miles, it now crested a hill. At the top the trees suddenly stopped and before them stretched a valley that palely reflected the moonlight. In the exact centre of the valley rose a magnificent tower.

A very familiar tower.

And in that moment Sitnalta realised where they were. She also understood why she hadn't realised it before: Atlantis wouldn't have. Though she was now human, her thoughts were still very much like those of the city. As a machine she had never made any mental leaps. That was a human trait: the ability to draw a conclusion from seemingly random facts and surmises. But if you changed even the slightest part of the data input on a machine, it does not even consider the fact that it might relate to previous data.

This sudden enlightenment thrilled her. Perhaps more than anything else she suddenly glimpsed her own humanity. She, Sitnalta, had been able to make the necessary mental leap to where they were and who the inhabitants of the planet were.

Unfortunately she could not share this information with Rodney. She was not ready for him to find out the truth about her creation.

So together they started their decent into the valley where Rodney would have to find his own answers to the mystery of this planet. Sitnalta knew them already and they frightened her. These people – the Merikkai – had both the power to hurt them as well as to reveal her true identity.

The hill they were on was soon left behind. It was as they reached its foot that they saw the reason for the reflected light: the entire valley was nothing more than a desert wasteland. The reflection was caused by the soft, white sand that covered the entire valley.

Rodney bent down and picked up a handful of the sand. Straightening, he let the grains run through his fingers. When the sand had run through, little grains still stuck to his fingers. With his other hand he tried to wipe it off, but much still clung.

"It's like sea sand," he remarked. Sitnalta frowned. She was not sure what he meant by 'sea sand.'

She said as much and he held out his hand, showing her the clingy grains. "Where the sea meets the land there is often a transition line. No vegetation grows on that line, as the sand is mostly too salty. Sometimes that sand is nothing more than ground up rock. But," and here he indicated the grains on his hand. Sitnalta's belly did a little flip-flop that nearly made her miss the rest of the explanation. "Sometimes the sand is ground up sea shells. And the sea shell sand looks like this." He grimaced and wiped his hand on the seat of his pants. "It also clings to everything."

"So this valley used to be an ocean bed?" Sitnalta asked, this time distracted by the sight of the fine white grains clinging to the dark cloth of Rodney's pants.

"Sitnalta!" the man next to her snapped and she realised he had been talking to her, affirming her observation, but she had not even noticed. She felt a heat rising in her face as she felt her first blush. It was not very pleasant. Fortunately the moon was not very bright.

"Sorry." Embarrassed by her reaction she was snappy in her reply. Rodney frowned, but let it slide. Together they set off into the mini-desert.

When they were halfway through, something like a slight breeze stirred the sand around them. After a moment the sand settled, only to leave behind a single dark object lying on the white earth.

"What is that?' Sitnalta asked as Rodney bent to pick up the object. As he straightened a look of bewilderment crossed his face. He held it out to her.

"It is one of Ronon's knives," he answered.


	8. Chapter 8

"Ronon? Colonel Sheppard?" McKay asked into the night. He tightly clenched the knife in his hand. He would know it anywhere: one day he had seen Ronon pull over a dozen from various places – including his hair. "Are you there?"

For a moment he was met with only silence. Then another flurry of sand left a second knife at Rodney's feet. Sitnalta bent and picked it up, examining it. Seconds later she tucked it into a pocket on her jacket.

"Wha..." Rodney started, but was interrupted by her smile.

"A girl's got to defend herself, doesn't she? Besides," she added with a toss of her head, "Specialist Ronon showed me how to use it. And I'm rather good, too."

Rodney had a hundred things he could say to that, but for once he ignored the temptation. He had more important things to do. Silently he handed the first knife to Sitnalta. Then he took out the lifesign-monitor he constantly carried with him and checked it. It still only read two lifesigns: his and Sitnalta's. Holding it out, he looked up.

"If you are out there, then..." he thought about it for a moment, "then make one of Sheppard's power bars appear in the sand." Currently John was going through a phase where he preferred a citrus power bar. Rodney suspected it was just so he had an excuse never to hand it over to Rodney, should he ask.

Another flurry and the asked-for citrus bad appeared on top of the lifesign-monitor. Though the screen was now obscured, Rodney had seen the small third dot blinking for a fraction of a second. Somehow, Sheppard, Ronon and probably Teyla were right there with them.

"Okay," he said into the air. "We're on our way to the tower. We were told we would find some answers there."

Nothing happened. Yet Rodney was sure the three could hear him. They just couldn't talk back. After a minute of silence he tried again. "We will find a way to rescue you. Do you understand? If you do, then make Teyla's power bar appear." Teyla favoured strawberry.

He was sure the flurry of sand sighed, but moments later the strawberry bar fell from the sky and landed at his feet. Grinning, he picked it up. "Then let's go," he said.

As they set out again – all five of them, he hoped – Rodney handed the orange bar to Sitnalta and opened the strawberry for himself.

"Why did you give me this?" the woman asked, holding the bar out in explanation.

After swallowing the first bite, he answered her: "Well, I'm allergic to citrus."

For a second or two she seemed to consider his explanation. Then she shrugged and opened the bar and ate it.

It took them nearly half an hour to trek through the dessert-valley. Rodney assumed that if the buried city was half as big as Atlantis, they had been inside its borders ever since they had stepped onto the sand. Somehow that seemed relevant.

Of course, the only dignified way into the tower was buried beneath the sand. But only a level above them was a broken window they could climb through. But he wasn't sure his companion would be able to make the climb. He looked at her, but she must have thought the same thing he had. Looking up at the window, she said:

"I'll make it, don't worry."

Five minutes later they were both inside the tower, proving Sitnalta right. She had scampered up the wall without his help. But he could see how much it had cost her. Yet he suspected she had spent too much time with Ronon: she was every bit as stubborn as the Satedan.

Fortunately they were able to find the transporter room in working condition, and they were sent to a room only down the hall from the main control room. From there Rodney would be able to access most systems in the city.

It took their combined efforts to unlock the secrets of the city-ship as well as the planet it was on. In the end, though, it was Sitnalta who made the final connections between the pieces:

The city was a colony of Atlantis that had been sent to this planet because of its rare starlight crystals. But though they had been aware the crystals were a source of power, they had not reckoned on the true power it possessed. Originally the Ancients had hoped to use the crystals to assist in Ascension – and that it did. When locked in a ring, the crystals had the power to transform matter into energy. Unfortunately a number of things went wrong from the start.

Soon the Ancients realised the rings could turn matter to energy and back, but when one moved out from the circumference of the rings, the person's energy got dispersed: wiping that person from existence.

Another thing was that these rings could not occupy one place in space for too long before the planet itself became unstable. Therefore the rings had to be constantly moved.

The third thing was that though one did not age when in the energy state, aging resumed the moment one went back to being matter. So those who wished for immortality in this fashion were doomed to wander the planet from site to site.

"So they abandoned their city and constructed smaller mobile towns." Rodney couldn't believe the story as Sitnalta told it. "For eons they have been wandering this planet, using the crystals to maintain a permanent ring around the towns. They are also able to keep the Wraith from finding this planet with the aid of the crystal rings."

"But the crystals degrade and break," Rodney added as he unearthed another part of the tragic tale. "So they use the local population to mine the starlight crystals in return for their protection. And in time the locals have come to regard the Merrikai as wrathful gods."

"The Merikki are safe from the Wraith, but the price they pay is even steeper," Sitnalta continued. "The mines go ever deeper and are becoming more treacherous by the year. Few who go down ever return."

The two looked at each other. Then Rodney snapped his fingers as another piece fell in place in his mind. "That's why they were afraid of you in the town!" He looked at the white-haired beauty. "You were cloned using Ancient DNA! They must think you are one of the Merrikai!"

She frowned. "That does not please me," she told him. Sitnalta returned to the screen in front of her. "How do we save our friends?"

It took another hour for them to find the way to do that. The rings were set in a permanent cycle all over the planet. Seven hours ago one had opened where Ronon and the rest had disappeared: they must have walked through the edge of the ring. Soon after the same ring had opened near the stargate – the interference from the energy rings would have interfered with the gate's ability to create a stable wormhole.

Just over an hour ago the ring had been in the dessert. In fact it had just been luck that Rodney and Sitnalta had not stumbled into it and been transformed into energy themselves.

"But why don't Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla just ask the Ancients to turn them back to matter?" Rodney wondered.

"Perhaps the process uses too much energy. And if the crystals are hard to come by..."

"They wouldn't waste the power on three wanderers from Atlantis!" Rodney completed the thought for her. He smiled at her. "Okay," he challenged her, "then explain how they had been able to make the knives and the energy bars appear."

She smiled back at him, accepting. "They are Ascended. They simply created the knives and the bars using their minds."

"Typical," Rodney said as he returned to his perusal of the system. "I bet when they get back Ronon will have all of his knives and Sheppard will have his power bar." Somehow it seemed like cheating to him: he had thought he had won those items, fair and square.


	9. Chapter 9

"So how do we get Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon re-materialised?" Rodney asked out loud. Good question, Sitnalta thought.

"Well, the Wraith use dematerialisation-technology," Sitnalta remarked. "How do they re-materialise the people?"

Rodney shook his head. "It's not like they re-materialise people from thin air," he explained. "They have the pattern of the person stored inside a buffer." Then he waved his hand in the air. "Besides, their technology is very different from the starlight crystal-based technology of this planet."

"Okay. But as far as I can see, this city's original technology had been adapted to the starlight crystals." She frowned slightly. "Couldn't we somehow use the concept of the portable Wraith-beaming technology and combine it with that of Maya?"

Rodney snapped his fingers as the solution unfolded in his mind. "Of course! If we can get the team inside one of the transporters here in the city, and adapted the parameters of the re-materialisation matrix to use the inside of the transporter as source instead of the buffer, we can beam them back into the same transporter!" He said that without once taking a single breath and Sitnalta actually felt dizzy for his part.

"Well, not exactly what I had planned, but it might work," she replied.

"Well, we can't all be geniuses," he said without looking up from his work. Then he frowned. "Maya?"

She grinned and then decided not to suppress the urge to have some fun with him. "Really, Rodney. I would have thought one as smart as you would have noticed that was this city's name."

She returned to her work as Rodney returned to his, mumbling about being the smartest man in two galaxies. Sitnalta only smiled sweetly. She had learned that from Teyla: nothing upset Rodney as much as serene calmness when he was in the mood for a fight.

Then she found something disturbing. "Uh-oh. We have a problem," she said as she brought the relevant data up on the big screen.

Rodney turned around, waving his right hand in a gesture of futility. "What is it this time?"

Sitnalta cocked her head slightly and pointed at the information running across the screen. "There is only one porthole left that will open over a transporter. After that the rings move on and will only reach this part of the planet again in four years." She took a deep breath. "And that ring will open in twenty-seven minutes."

"Where?"

"On what we call the east-pier on Atlantis." Now Rodney understood her concern. There wasn't enough energy left in the system for them to use a transporter to get there. Yet the path to the east-pier would take them at least ten minutes. That would barely leave them enough time to alter the re-materialisation matrix.

"Great. It never is just a stroll through the park, is it?" Rodney grumbled, already grabbing his gear and heading out at a run. Sitnalta wanted to smile, but she, too, felt the pressure of the moment. Quietly she followed him out the door and down the corridor.

The cave-in had happened just as one rounded a corner, so they nearly ran into the blockade. It covered the entire corridor.

"Oh, no," she breathed. She looked at Rodney. "There is no other way around, is there?"

He didn't even have to take out his tablet to know the answer. Maya was built exactly like Atlantis and they both knew this was the only way to the east-pier. "No," he finally said. But then he snapped his fingers and did pull out his tablet. Other people carried extra weapons and supplies strapped to their back-packs; Rodney carried a tablet.

"Look," he said, tapping away at the keys. "This valley is sloped to the side of the east-pier. The roof-top access to the observation tower should be less than a few inches below the surface. In fact," and he scrolled down a bit, "we should see the antenna above the sand."

That would mean a run across the desert. She was already bone-tired – perhaps too tired for a run – but she was not about to leave her friends stranded on the planet. Without a single word she turned around and started back the way they had come. She was aware of Rodney running right behind her.

The sand was soft enough that they simply jumped from the window. As they started their run, a dozen or so shadows appeared on the ridge above the valley behind them. They only noticed the shadows because of the whoop of malice arising from there. It was the Merikki; come for their pound of flesh.

Suddenly their trek turned into not only a race against time, but a race for their lives as the Merikki started their descent into the valley.

Rodney was correct: they soon saw the protruding antenna in the distance. But it still seemed like an endless ocean of sand between here and there. Yet they had little choice, even though her lungs were burning and her heart racing.

Then the unthinkable happened: she stumbled in the sand. And as her breath whooshed from her lungs she suddenly knew she did not have the strength left to get up and cross the last hundred yards to the tower. She had reached the end of her strength.

Rolling onto her back, she tried to get her breath just enough to tell Rodney to continue without her. She had been alive for only a few weeks, after all. If saving her friends meant her being sacrificed to the Merikki, then so be it. Besides, she only needed to tell him the one thing for Atlantis to be safe.

"Go, leave me," she wheezed. "You need to get to the transporter."

Rodney was obviously torn between his desire to help his friends and his need to help her.

"I will be okay; all of you will," she tried to reassure him. But then he looked up at the approaching Merikki. Without hesitation he picked her up and ran in the other direction – towards the east-pier.

She was not a big woman, but as she clung to him she felt how much effort carrying her over the sand took from him. Soon he, too, was stumbling. Yet he did not drop her once nor did he fall. It took them twice as much time to cover that last stretch as it would have if she had been able to run. And all the while she clung to him, scared he had done the wrong thing, but afraid to let up on her grip for a single moment.

Finally they were at the spot where the antenna reached up through the sand, and Rodney simply dropped her in the soft, clingy sand. With a soft 'oof' she landed on her rump. Moments later she was on her knees next to him, digging in the sand. The Merikki were not far behind them

As Rodney had said, they only had to dig a few inches before encountering the top of the tower. Fortunately the tower had an access hatch at the top. Less than a minute later they had uncovered it. But as she looked around she saw the Merikki as far away as the spot where she had fallen. There were eight of them. They were armed with crude weapons and they had painted bold markings on their faces with a greenish-yellow paint. She really couldn't believe Teyla and Ronon had thought this a benign planet.

"Hurry!" she said, digging even harder. Then her fingers encountered the familiar shape of the crystals that would open the door. "Rodney!" she said, alerting him to her find. Seconds later they had uncovered enough of the crystal that Sitnalta could wave her hand over them. With a sigh the door opened beneath them; tumbling them down into the dark tower.

As fate would have it, Sitnalta landed on top of Rodney, breaking her fall. For less than a heartbeat she considered staying there, but they were not safe yet. The Merikki would reach them in seconds. So she rolled off and waved her hand over the crystals that closed the door. The roof was so low they had to crouch and the crystals were right above her. Instantly Rodney pulled out two crystals and set off down the corridor. They still had to get to the transporter, alert Sheppard and the rest and then make the alterations. And they had less than seven minutes left to do it in.


	10. Chapter 10

Rodney had to admit: working with Sitnalta was comfortable. Well, comfortable in the sense that she never tried to chat while he was busy, never asked for explanations or tried to question what he was doing. Instead she just calmly accepted his proposal and followed his lead in solving the problem. And though it bothered him that she had simply strolled in and started working in the science lab, she really was a great asset. He had also learned that her questions and observations – whenever she made them – were worth noting.

But that was it for being comfortable around her. While she was a great scientist – and heaven only knew from whom she had been cloned – she was also a really beautiful woman. He would sometimes feel her eyes on him while they were working. This really unsettled him, and he was not sure why. There were a number of pretty scientists around, but none of them ever had that effect on him. As he had told John earlier: she always seemed to be where he was.

The part he had not told his friend was that she haunted him, even when she was somewhere else. It was almost as if her presence was so overpowering it followed him wherever he went.

And that was definitely not comfortable.

Right now they were both bent over the crystal tray in the transporter, trying to adjust the matrix to accept the energy patterns of John Sheppard, Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagan as human and then to materialise them. Ideally this would have taken the two of them a few hours. They had minutes.

Of course, he could have had more time if he had just left Sitnalta in the desert. Yet he knew he never had any choice. No matter who she was, he could not have left her there for the Merikki to take. Perhaps that could have been possible three years ago, before Atlantis; not anymore. Never before had he been part of a group that really would do everything they could to save just one: including him. Those on Atlantis would never leave him behind, and not just because they really needed his scientific expertise. They would do it because he was one of them. That was all they needed to know. And to Rodney this was, even after all this time, a new experience.

"See if you can find John and the rest, I can finish here," Sitnalta suddenly told him. She did not even look up to see if he would do as she said, but simply continued with the task at hand. For a moment he hesitated, about to protest. But she finally looked up at him, and there was naked pleading in her eyes. She, too, would sacrifice anything for the group. In fact, he knew she had been serious out there in the desert: he could have left her and she would not once blamed him for it.

So instead of protesting, he stepped outside the transporter and looked around, hoping to find any sing of his friends.

"John? Ronon? Teyla?" he asked, hoping they might respond. As far as they had been able to determine, the ring must be nearly over them right now, meaning his friends should be in the same time and place as him. But were they still able to communicate between the states of being? Could his friends hear him? And if they could, can they still respond?

Questions such as these served no purpose, he knew. But he had one of those minds that questioned everything; wondered about everything.

Fortunately this was one question that was easily answered. While he was still in a bind, wondering what to do, another of those small, deadly knives appeared in front of him. As it literally appeared in front of his nose, the knife clattered to the ground the moment gravity got its hold on it.

"Okay, you're there." He turned around once, feeling a bit unsettled at the thought of talking to thin air – even if he knew air was neither thin nor was it uninhabited. "Look, we might be able to bring you back, but we need to do it within," quickly he looked at his watch, "the next two minutes. So get into the transporter and wait there." And even though he could not hear them, he knew his friends well enough. "And no, John, there is no other way. Just get in the transporter and wait there."

He, too, turned to enter the transporter. Even if Sitnalta could match his own speed, it would take the rest of the time with their combined efforts. Yet when he entered the transporter Sitnalta was not working on the tray. Instead she was sitting next to it, her fingers resting on the crystals. Her eyes were closed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, already rushing to look at his tablet. It showed nothing amiss, only a slight energy spike. For a moment he stared at it, but just as he was about to try and analyse it, Sitnalta suddenly reached over and switched two crystals.

"There," she said, grinning at him. "That should do it." She stood up. "Are they nearly here?"

"What...but...how?" he started, unsure where to begin to explain something he was not sure he even wanted explained. Sitnalta had done something here that she should not have been able to do. Obviously she preferred he did not know, either, for her eyes were deep and anxious as she looked at him.

"Please, just trust me," she pleaded. For a moment he considered ignoring her plea, but not even he was as insensitive as that.

"Okay." He looked at his pad, seeing the adjustments looked acceptable. So together they exited the transporter and the moment he knew the ring would overlap the transporter he activated it remotely from his tablet.

The familiar blue-white light filled the transporter at the same time they heard the window break down the hall. The Merikki must have dug deep enough to reach it. They were coming.

It felt like an eternity as they waited for the doors to the transporter to slide open. So much can go wrong in there. Seconds later their patience were rewarded. As the doors slid open Ronon rushed out and picked Rodney and Sitnalta up in a huge bear hug – one in each arm. "Thank you. That was really creepy," the big Satedan told them.

"Not to break up this lovely hug," Rodney said, his mouth squashed against a big arm, "But there's a number of angry villagers just around the corner."

"How many?" John, who had joined them, asked as Ronon finally dropped them.

"At least a dozen," Sitnalta replied. She held out a hand and incredibly Ronon gave her one of his knives. The huge piece of metal obscured the delicate white fingers. She looked at Rodney and shrugged.

"Like I said, Specialist Ronon has been teaching me," she explained. Rodney now knew how Alice must have felt when she had plunged down that rabbit hole: though everything sounded credible, everything seemed confused. Unlike Alice, though, Rodney knew he was wide awake.

By now John, Ronon and Teyla had progressed down the hallway to where they could clearly hear the Merikki. In this life there was always something that had to be done. So Rodney simply shrugged, picked up his tablet, placed it on his back and followed his friends; getting his P-90 ready.

The villagers might have seemed simple, but at some time they had acquired firearms that closely resembled those of the Genii. It might even be Genii, Rodney thought as they exchanged a volley of shots. Both sides were firing from the cover of the corridors' turns.

"I don't understand this. The Merikki are friendly," Teyla said between shots. "I have traded with them on several occasions."

"Yeah, well, they think Sitnalta is one of the Merikkai," Rodney told her. John turned to look at the woman.

"No wonder they are pissed at us," he said. "The Merikkai only comes this way every generation or so, but they really exploit the Merikki when they do."

Another volley of fire was enough to convince them they were pinned down. But just as things seemed hopeless, they heard shots that were not from the Merikki.

"That's P-90's!" John exclaimed.

"Atlantis must have sent another team when we missed our regular check-in," Teyla said. Emboldened by the help, SGA-1 pushed forward. Less than a minute later it was finished. Many of the Merikki were dead, the rest had surrendered.

From the other end of the corridor stepped Major Lorne and his team, along with another group of marines. "Colonel, it's good to see you," he greeted them, grinning. "Are you about ready to go home?"

"Are we ever," John replied.


	11. Chapter 11

It was dark on Atlantis by the time they returned. Of course Elisabeth Weir wanted a preliminary report on what happened on the planet. Afterwards Rodney, John, Teyla, Ronon and Sitnalta plodded off to the dining room for late-night sandwiches and hot chocolate. By the time they finally went their separate ways to bed, Sitnalta was hardly able to put one foot in front of the other. She just had one thought in mind: bed. Unfortunately she was sticky with sweat and itched from the sand still clinging to her skin.

She nearly fell asleep under the shower. Fortunately she stumbled backwards as she lost her balance, and the cold wall on her back was enough to wake her for another ten minutes. With hair still damp she stumbled into bed, hoping for a good eight hours sleep. Really, of all things human, sleep was one of the things she liked best. Atlantis was never asleep. Yes, for a while she had been slumbering, but for countless millennia before that she had been awake. Aware. But the ability to sleep – to reduce awareness to almost nothing – was almost wondrous. By eight o'clock she was soundly asleep.

Of course this did not last. Atlantis was – after all – a city that never slept. Nor did the inhabitants of the city ever completely come to rest at any one given time. Less than an hour after falling into a nice, dreamless sleep, the city sent a micro-burst through the countless neural interfaces running on every surface of the city. By focussing the neural energy, Atlantis was able to send her daughter a micro-burst of information, no matter where she was in the city.

_Awake!_  The thought burst into her mind.  _Someone has activated the Burduvi-device!_

Atlantis might be equipped with enough technology to virtually run any program instantaneously, but Sitnalta was now human, and though incredibly smart, she was still limited by the biology of the form. Yet she still had within her all the information Atlantis had when she had been created. And one of those bits of information – one that set off alarms in her mind – was the information regarding the Burduvi-device.

Adrenaline rushed through her system. All tiredness fled with the knowledge that one of the most destructive and senseless devices ever built by the Ancients have been activated. Instantly Sitnalta reached out and laid her palm on one of the sensors, thus linking her mind with Atlantis in a way not even those same Ancients had been able to.

_How many were exposed?_ She asked the city.

_Two. Both are in the infirmary. Doctor Carson Beckett is examining them._

Sitnalta frowned. The people could still be saved. Yet she knew if she went to Doctor Carson with this information she will probably give away her secret; the secret she had been keeping from the day she had been born. But could she live with herself, knowing people had died because of her? If she had been willing to die in that desert so that Rodney, John, Teyla and Ronon would survive, then she should be willing to be exposed for those who needed her now.

_Very well_ , she answered Atlantis. Ten minutes later she stepped into the infirmary to witness one of the most spectacular rants ever.

"You know, I think I am a pretty easy guy to work for," Rodney was saying. He was dressed only in a dark blue night gown. Obviously he, too, had been awakened by news of the activation of the Burduvi-device. "I am usually too busy doing all the really important stuff to micro-manage all the little things I need you people to be doing. Now, because of that you have a fair amount of freedom. That does not, however, mean you can do whatever the hell you please. There are rules. There are protocols in place, not only to protect the city, but also your sorry little existences." Despite the urgency of the situation, Sitnalta had to smile. His hair was mussed on one side and he looked as tired as she did.

The two scientists he was berating were familiar to her. They were Doctors Houston – a dark haired woman – and Watson – a dark skinned young man. She decided to wait a moment and see how this was going to play out, especially as Houston now tried to interrupt Rodney. But he pointed a finger at the young woman.

"Oh, no cannot. You cannot interrupt me. Okay? I was having a perfectly wonderful dream until I got this call, so you can just stand there and listen." By now he had stopped pacing. "You were sent on a routine cataloguing of one of the abandoned Ancient labs. And you activate some alien device without having the first clue what it was."

"We thought it was..." Watson tried to explain.

"Yes! Well, you thought wrong," Rodney told him.

"Yeah, but just the other week you did the exact same thing," Houston tried once more. "So I don't..."

"But I am me," Rodney interrupted. "If I make a mistake I can fix it. You are you. And when you make mistakes you don't have to fix them. I do."

"The second we realised it was emitting radiation we turned it off." Houston still did not understand that McKay would just go on until she gave in.

"So what," he now told her. Sitnalta smiled. "What, you want a medal? My four year old niece could figure out to turn something off if it is emitting radiation. That does not make you smart, that just makes you a little less stupid."

Up to now Doctor Carson Beckett had been quietly doing his job, but now he interrupted Rodney. Well, he was allowed to, Sitnalta knew. He was Rodney's friend. "Rodney, be nice," he told his friend.

Rodney sighed. "So, are they gonna live?" Then he thought about it for a moment. "More importantly, can I go back to bed?"

Just as Carson was about to answer, Sitnalta stepped forward. It was time to tell these people the truth of what had happened in that lab. She had to admit, Rodney was correct when he said the protocols were there to save their lives. There were a number of devices scattered about the city that could ruin lives.

"No," she said as she stepped out from the shadows. The four people already in the infirmary looked at her. "No, they are not okay. In thirteen to fifteen hours they will both die."

Rodney turned to the two scientists, leaning back and smiling that awful smile of his that preluded danger. "See, right there is what I was talking about," he smirked.

"Wait, you say they will die?" Doctor Carson asked her, more concerned with the news than proving a point.

"Yes," she said, wondering how Teyla would have handled this. She wasn't sure. So she lifted her chin, looked at Carson and tried to explain a little of it. "They activated the Burduvi-device. It emits radiation that passes through the body, collecting minerals. These minerals form a...a lump," she tried, not always sure how to explain the intricacies of the Ancients science. "This lump explodes, using the minerals in the person."

"Are you saying these two will explode?" Carson asked, gaping at her.

"Yes."

"So how do we cure them?" Carson was perhaps one of the best people Sitnalta had ever met. Though her whole existence revolved around Rodney, she was aware of the Doctor's qualities and compassion. She often wished she could be just the slightest bit like him.

"Wait," Rodney interrupted. "I think the first thing I'd like to know is weather the rest of Atlantis had been exposed."

"Die?" Watson asked, finally finding his voice. "But I feel fine!"

"How do you know this?" Houston said. By now everybody was talking at once, confusing her.

Sitnalta put her hands over her ears, trying to shut everyone out. "Stop it!" she yelled. "Listen, I can't think with everyone talking!"

Slowly she looked up. Everyone was staring at her. She lowered her hands, eyeing the four people. When she realised they were quiet, she took a deep breath and tried again. "The lumps form behind the lungs. Right now they are too small to be detected on the scan. But within a few hours they can be removed and be destroyed."

"How many hours?"

She thought about that for a moment. Then she shrugged. "I really do not know. But the lumps form quickly. It takes more time for the lumps to be arranged into something that can explode than for it to form."

"So when we can detect the lump we can remove it?" Carson asked.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "It has to grow first. Monitor it. When growth stops, operate."

Those gathered looked at her. "Are you sure?" Carson asked.

"Yes."

"And all I wanted was a good night's rest!" Rodney exclaimed.

"You can't help us," Houston sneered.

"No," he replied, floundering. "But I can't just leave you." He made a motion with his hand. "But perhaps by observing the process I can offer a scientific perspective on the whole thing."

Sitnalta smiled. He might think them idiots, but in fact she knew Rodney really cared for the well-being of the scientists. Of everything he had told them, the only real truth was that he cared about their existences. "I will get us some coffee," she offered.

 


	12. Chapter 12

That was it, he decided. He could no longer stand not knowing how Sitnalta had known about the exploding tumours. And all the rest of it. Elisabeth knew, of course, but when he had demanded she tell him, she had simply told him to go ask Sitnalta himself. And somehow – in those few words – she had managed to convey a multitude of meaning, including that for some reason it was from  _him_  that they were keeping the secret.

He had tried talking to Carson about it, but his friend was still in awe of Sitnalta and the help she had provided in saving the lives of Houston and Watson. Carson was of no help whatsoever, and even refused to hear any word of doubt concerning the woman.

So that was why he was now on his way to confront the white-haired woman. He only hoped he could maintain his level of irritation long enough to get to the truth. He really hated it when he was in a mood for a rant and then lost the will to do so while looking for the ideal victim.

He finally reached the main lab. He had left her here only an hour ago when his irritation had reached its peak. Truth be told, he did not even know why he had left earlier. Usually when someone irritated him, he simply yelled at them. Instead he had stormed out of the lab into Weir's office, and had been met with a stony look and an answer given with a raised chin. When Elisabeth raised her chin and narrowed her eyes like that, she was as unmovable as the wall of China.  _Nobody_  wanted to be on the receiving end of that look.

The door opened and he entered a nearly silent lab. Though there were at least seven people working there right now, not one of them dared make a sound. Only Sitnalta were humming quietly where she stood in front of the one panel. He marched up to her. He didn't recognise the song and for a moment he wondered where she would have learned it in her brief existence.

"Look, I have been very patient about this," he started. She turned around and gave him a quizzical look. "I have kept my mouth shut and even helped you when you could not walk anymore back on the planet. I accept your work here and I even accepted your story about the exploding lumps, as you called them. But I can no longer just stand back and have you running around knowing everything without telling me anything." While speaking he had been looking away, gesturing as he went. Now he finally looked up into her eyes. He had thought she would be angry at him, or at best laughing. Instead she was crying. Slow, sob-less tears rolled down her face.

"Oh no, don't you cry!" Like any man ever born he had no idea what to make of a woman's tears. This woman quickly wiped her face with one hand. Then she squared her shoulders.

"What do you want to know?" she asked. Her voice did not falter, but instead grew perfectly soulless.

"Well, for a start, how did you know about the tumours? And why did Elisabeth tell you to tell us your secret?" He might have continued, but new tears had formed in her eyes.

She finally looked down at her hands. "They are all so brave," she began. "Ronon and Teyla and even John. They are never afraid to face their fears."

As she did not say anything for a moment or two, he assumed she was finished. "What do they have to do with anything?" he wanted to know, baffled.

She shrugged. "I was going to tell you the day you found me, but then somehow everything got turned around as I spoke. Just know I never meant to hurt you. Atlantis did not understand this part of human interaction and I am still learning."

"Yeah, well, everybody is still learning," he said. "But how does Atlantis figure into it?"

The tiny, white-haired woman finally lifted her face to him. Looking him squarely in the eye she finally told him her secret: "I am Atlantis."

He scoffed at her. "Atlantis is a city..."

She interrupted. "With a learning matrix and a neural network running through every corridor. Every time someone links his or her mind with Atlantis, thoughts and memories and emotions spill over into that matrix. For millions of years Atlantis has been observing humanity, learning, growing. To some degree she has become sentient."

She turned away, looked at her station. "And then she was abandoned. For ten thousand years all she had was memories of the past. It was an eternity. But she had hope. She knew that once before in her future you arrived. The Atlantis team arrived. And finally you did."

"Ten thousand years must seem like a moment compared to millions," he remarked, his anger deflated. Instead he felt the need to make her smile at him once more.

She shook her head. "Not when you're alone." She took a deep breath and continued her story. "When you did arrive, you were just a small number of people. Even now you are but a fraction of those who had lived here before. Yet she was content. Once thousands had watched over her. Now only a few dozen did, and among that number one stood out. Unfortunately he could not even imagine that Atlantis could feel, never mind that she could love."

Suddenly he had a sneaky feeling he knew where this conversation was headed. She did not disappoint him. Slowly she raised her eyes once more.

"Atlantis severed a part of her consciousness and placed it into me and I became the part of her that loved."

This was just too much. Perhaps not knowing had been better, after all.

"That's actually rather flattering," he remarked. Then he realised something else. "Sitnalta. It's Atlantis spelled backwards." Somehow this seemed relevant. If only he could remember the rest of that first conversation!

She nodded. "I was really trying to tell you everything, back at the beginning. But I literally got it backwards."

"So you are just another part of this city?" Suddenly he realised why he had left earlier. He had left because he had actually liked her and had been afraid that the secret she had might take her away from him. As it had. "I have seen things these past three years no human outside the stargate program could imagine. But not even I could have imagined being pursued by a piece of technology."

It was as the light faded in her eyes that he suddenly realised they had an audience. As he severed the tentative hold she had over him, the outside world rushed in. He turned around to see the other scientists staring at him. "Well, this is awkward," he remarked. Then he left.

Without looking back he walked out the lab, intending to go to the dining hall and get something to eat. Eating always helped.

Just as he was about to turn the first corner, someone grabbed him from behind. It was Sitnalta, holding on to his arm. Her hand was surprisingly warm.

"I am human," she informed him. Her voice was firm. "I can still talk to Atlantis, but I  _am_  no longer Atlantis. I am Sitnalta." She lifted his hand, placed her palm against his. "Feel this. This is flesh."

His anger resurfaced. "You only love me because you were programmed to!" he yelled. It was almost as if he had slapped her. The instant he spoke he could see the hurt in her eyes. But she regrouped within seconds.

"No. I might have had an advantage, but as I changed from Atlantis, I learned to make my own decisions. I love you because  _I_   _chose_  to love you." Perhaps he would have continued arguing. She never gave him the opportunity.

Their palms were still pressed together, but now she pushed at him with surprising strength. Yet she could not have moved him by an inch if he had not been willing to move. He decided to take the step back her push required and felt himself pressing against the corridor wall.

Then she was kissing him. She was not very good at it, and he realised this was her very first kiss. But the kiss still knocked the breath out of him.

After a moment she slowly pulled away – just far enough to leave room to catch her breath. She was looking down at his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I will go."

He tried to respond, but in all honesty he was still searching for air. That one kiss had nearly knocked him over. As he tried to say something, he suddenly felt her fingers slipping from where they had still been pressed against his own. She really was leaving, he realised. And he knew he could not let her go. That moment when she had been lying in the sand, breathless, she had smiled at him and told him to leave her, had been the moment he had realised she meant a great deal to him.

Her hand was slipping away. She was slipping away. So he closed his hand around her fingers moments before she was free. He pulled at her hand and now it was she that was pressed up against the wall and  _he_  was kissing  _her_.

The kiss was perfect. She stood with her arms thrown around his neck and kissed him as he kissed her. As the blood rushed from his head he was sure he could hear cheering in the background.

No, he really was hearing something, he realised. Finally the kiss ended and he turned his head slightly. Peering around the door of the lab, the scientists were cheering. As he glared at them they disappeared back into their cavern. The whole of Atlantis would have heard this story by lunch, he suspected.

He turned to Sitnalta. He knew he was looking a bit dazed. In all honesty he had never been any good with relationships. The one with Katy Brown always seemed just too complicated, and before that he could hardly remember when a woman had even considered looking at him. But now a lovely woman stood before him, telling him she loved him. A woman he had fallen for, as well.

It would take a much stronger man than him to let her go.

"I was just on my way to lunch. Would you...um...?" he asked her, suddenly unsure of himself.

She smiled. "Lunch sounds wonderful."

#####

_I am Atlantis._

_I am millions of years old. Once there were thousands living inside me. Now there are only a few. The one man who knows me best still doesn't pay as much attention to me as he used to. But that does not matter, for though we are now separate, Sitnalta used to be me. And as long as he spends time with her, I am content._

_I am Atlantis, and I have learned how to love._

**The End**


End file.
